The Four Deep Tones (New
York City)
Group members:
George Vereen (first tenor)
Calvin Williams (baritone)
Furman Haynes (second tenor)
Carroll Dean (bass)
Ivy Floyd (tenor)
Discography:
Castle Rock / Just In Case
You Change Your Mind (Coral 65061) 1951
When The Saints Go Marching
In / The Night You Said Goodbye (Coral 65062) 1951
Biography:
The Deep Tones originated in
1948 in New York City, though many of their members were born and raised in the
Carolinas. The Deep Tones’ first recordings were spirituals for Savoy and
Muzicon. By 1951, the group consisted of George Vereen (first tenor), Calvin
Williams (baritone), Furman Haynes (second tenor), Carroll Dean (bass) and Ivy
Floyd (tenor) and had also begun singing secular music as well as spirituals.
“When you’re in show business you have to do a variety of things; spirituals,
blues, jazz,” Calvin Williams recently told Charlie Horner. The group
auditioned for Billy Ward when he was putting together the first Dominoes group
but was told their harmony was “too good,” meaning too polished. Ward was
looking for harmony that had more of an R&B sound and ended up signing some
friends of theirs. Members of the Deep Tones and the future Dominoes Clyde
McPhatter and Bill Brown knew each other from summertime block parties in
Harlem.
 |
| (Top row, left to right: Calvin Williams, Carroll Dean, Furman Haynes; Bottom row, left to right: George Vereen, Ivy Floyd) |
The Deep Tones were
discovered singing in a club by someone from Decca Records who signed them to
Decca’s Coral subsidiary. The group was given Conrad “Connie” Frederick as an
arranger. Frederick had previously been an arranger and pianist for the Golden
Gate Quartet. The Deep Tones had one recording session for Coral that produced
four sides; “When The Saints Go Marching In,” “Castle Rock,” “The Night You
Said Goodbye,” and “Just In Case You Change Your Mind.” Frederick assembled the
musicians for the session and also played piano on it.
“Castle Rock” was given to
the group by the label. It had been written by sax man “Big” Al Sears, who’d
recorded it for Mercury while playing with the Johnny Hodge Orchestra (Mercury
8944). As the Johnny Hodge Orchestra song climbed the charts, several labels
had their artists put out versions of the song to cash in on the hot tune.
While the Hodge-Sears version was an instrumental, the Deep Tones version had
lyrics, with Calvin Williams doing the lead. Conrad Frederick arranged it.
Interestingly, Coral Records chose to call the group the Four Deep Tones, in
spite of the fact that there were five voices on the records.
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“Castle Rock” was paired
with “Just In Case You Change Your Mind.” George Vereen sang lead. Coral chose
to release the second Deep Tones’ record almost simultaneously with the first
in the summer of 1951. (In fact, Coral #65062 was actually reviewed two weeks
before #65061.) “The Night You Said Goodbye” was a nice ballad lead by Furman
Haynes. It was arranged by Gerald Hall, whom the group knew. Hall also worked
with Lena Horne. The flip was the spiritual, “When The Saints Go Marching In.”
In spite of some airplay,
neither record did much sales wise. “We got a few gigs from them but that’s
about it,” recalled Calvin Williams.
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The Deep Tones evolved into
the Hi-Liters on Celeste and Hico, and the Stereos on Robin’s Nest. Individual
members of the Deep Tones also later sang with the Four Knights (Calvin
Williams, George Vereen, Furman Haynes), Golden Gate Quartet (Calvin Williams),
Bill Landford Quartette (Furman Haynes), Sandmen (Furman Haynes) and Johnny
Smith’s Ink Spots (Calvin Williams, Furman Haynes).
Thanks to Tony Fournier
Thanks to Tony Fournier
Links:
Classic Urban Harmony
Furman Haynes Obituary
Internet Audio Archive
Songs:
Castle Rock / Just In Case You Change Your Mind
When The Saints Go Marching In / The Night You Said Goodbye
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